| Hidden Within Chapter 4 |
| Author’s Note: This is for entertainment purposes only. The characters in this story belong to ABC TV and “General Hospital”. ************************************************************************************************************* “Sit there, we’ll be with you in a minute,” the police officer instructed Carly, pointing to a nearby chair. Still shaking slightly, Carly did as told, sinking down into the chair. She put her head in her hands, still in disbelief at the events of the evening. Lost in her thoughts, Carly didn’t hear Alexis approach her until she was right next to her. Alexis sighed when she saw Carly, obviously troubled. She reached out and tapped her on the shoulder, then stepped back slightly, alarmed at the hollow look on Carly’s face. “My God, Carly, what happened?” Carly blinked back tears as she tried to recount the accident. “You have to believe me, Alexis – it wasn’t my fault. I don’t know how it happened.” She told Alexis the details of the accident, but left out who the victim was. “How is the person you hit?” Alexis asked her. Carly shrugged. “I’m not sure – they took him away in an ambulance… he didn’t look good, Alexis – not at all.” Biting her lip, Carly tried to keep from crying once more. “Well, let me see what I can find out,” Alexis told her, reaching out and patting her hand reassuringly. Carly watched Alexis walk over to the desk seargent. Her eyes widened in alarm as Alexis became increasingly animated in her discussion with the officer. Then, Alexis whipped around and gave Carly a deadly look that made her blood run cold. Carly swallowed hard as Alexis slowly approached her. “Why didn’t you tell me the person you hit was Jax?” Alexis asked in a clipped tone. “Because I knew it would just upset you,” Carly told her. “Look, Alexis, I don’t know why I didn’t tell you, okay? Everything is just so jumbled up in my head right now.” She sighed, squeezing her eyes shut, as if trying to block out the nightmare that was unfolding. Alexis was having trouble breathing. The mere thought of helping someone who had hit her best friend was unthinkable to her, yet she knew that turning her back on Carly meant turning her back on Sonny as well. Just then, Mac came over to Carly and Alexis. “Well, Ms. Davis, what a surprise,” he said sarcastically. “I had no doubt you’d be here to help Mrs. Corinthos out of this mess.” Something inside Alexis snapped as her eyes shifted from Carly to Mac. Putting a steely look of resolve on her face, Alexis took in a deep breath. “Well, you’re wrong about that, Commissioner.” She turned to glare at a very surprised Carly. “You’ll have to find another attorney. I’m through with you.” Turning on her heel, Alexis didn’t give Carly or Mac a backward glance as she left the police station. She was amazed to feel a sense of relief at what had just taken place, and even more surprised to feel freedom – a word that she hadn’t used to describe her feelings in a very long time. Getting into her car, Alexis knew where she needed to be and what she had to do. She pointed the car in the direction of General Hospital as she dialed Ned’s number on her cell phone. ************************************************************************************************************* “Here ya go.” AJ handed a cup of coffee to Skye, who was staring off into space. He noted with concern as he took the seat next to her in the waiting area that she was so still, it seemed as if she were barely breathing. Clearing his throat did nothing to erase the blank look on her face. “Skye?” he finally said. It took a moment for her name to register through the fog that had enveloped her brain. “Hmmm?” she finally responded, not moving her eyes from the fixed spot on the floor she had them trained on. “Did you get in touch with Jax’ parents?” AJ pried. At the mention of Jax’ name, Skye snapped out of her momentary trance. Sitting up straighter, she took a sip of her coffee before answering. “Uh, yeah, I did. They’re coming right away.” She swallowed over the lump in her throat that had been there ever since she’d seen the look on Carly’s face at the accident site. “Junior!” Ned came running up to his cousins, anxiety written across his face. “I just heard what happened. How is Jax?” Skye remained silent as her body once again slumped and her eyes went back to the same spot on the floor. The change that overcame her was not lost on Ned, who gave AJ a questioning look. AJ motioned for Ned to follow him outside and away from Skye, where they could talk. Alone once again, Skye sat as if in a daze. Alan came around the corner and was startled to see how weak and fragile his usually strong daughter appeared. He watched as Skye’s lips began to move, mouthing unspoken words. Her eyes remained glazed over. Alan knew she was probably in shock and felt entirely helpless. One name came to his mind on who might be able to reach Skye. He rushed to his office to find the right phone number. ************************************************************************************************************ “Carly?” Bobbie came rushing into the police station, followed by Scotty. She gasped at the sight of Carly’s tear-stained face and immediately gathered her daughter in her arms. “Sweetie, what happened?” Scotty stood nearby, listening as Carly told Bobbie the events of the night. He was more than a little surprised when Carly got to the part of the story where Alexis left her to fend for herself. “Scotty?” “Hmm?” Scotty replied, startled out of his thoughts. “Could you represent Carly?” Bobbie asked hopefully. “Yeah, sure I will,” Scotty agreed, giving Carly a slight smile. Carly returned the smile, although she didn’t look entirely convinced that Scotty was the best choice of a lawyer for her, and Scotty couldn’t help but feel the same way. ************************************************************************************************************* Skye jumped with a start at the feel of someone’s hand on her shoulder. She looked up, wide-eyed, to see Alexis standing before her. Alexis quickly took the seat next to Skye. “I… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” she stammered, eyes downcast. Skye surprised herself by feeling a twinge of pity for Alexis – she knew that Jax and Alexis were close friends, besides being ex-husband and wife. “How is he?” Alexis asked, almost afraid to hear the answer. Skye shrugged dejectedly, once again staring at the floor. “I haven’t heard anything since they took him into surgery.” She gave Alexis a brief rundown on Jax’ condition before he had gone into surgery. Alexis’ wide eyes and hand-wrenching weren’t lost on Skye – she knew how dire the circumstances were, she just couldn’t show how she felt right now. No, it was better for her to keep her emotions under control. “Skye?” Alexis was looking at Skye, noticing that her mind had seemingly wandered. “Hmm?” Skye looked up, just in time to see Monica and Alan coming over to them, followed closely behind by Ned and AJ. Skye sprang up out of her chair. She didn’t have to ask anything – they knew what she wanted to know. “He made it through surgery,” Monica told to the small group, then was greeted with sighs of relief. “He’s still got a long road ahead of him. The next 48 hours are critical.” “Critical for what? What does that mean?” Alexis demanded, her brow knitted as she tried to take in and process all of the information Monica was providing. She felt a bit better when Ned slowly came around beside her and put his arm around her waist in a comforting manner. Skye slowly eased back down into the chair after hearing that Jax was still alive. Feelings of numbness and shock were starting to wear off and were being replaced by pure fear and helplessness, two emotions Skye hated to feel with a passion. AJ noticed the change in his sister’s demeanor and hurried over to her side. “Skye, he made it through the surgery – he’s going to be okay now.” Skye turned to look at him, a scowl on her face. “You don’t know that, AJ – no one knows that.” Her lower lip began to tremble slightly, but she quickly bit it to stop the show of emotion. “I… I need to be alone for a minute,” she said quietly but firmly before standing up and pushing through a surprised group. Alan started to go after Skye, but AJ put a hand on his arm to stop him. “She just needs some alone time, Dad. She’ll be okay.” Inside his head, he tried to convince himself that he was right. ************************************************************************************************************** Skye wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to warm her body. Despite the warm air, there was still a chill within her that would not go away. She shivered from the feel of hot tears against her cold cheeks as she finally released some of her pent-up emotions. “Ms. Chandler-Quartermaine?” Marcus Taggert slowly approached the auburn-haired beauty, aware that he might be invading her personal space. Skye quickly brushed the tears off her cheeks as she looked up at the handsome Detective. “It’s Skye, remember?” Taggert gave her a small smile. “Of course.” He glanced at the empty space on the bench next to Skye and motioned to it. “May I join you?” Skye smiled in return, amused that he would even ask her permission. “Of course,” she said, scooting over slightly. The two sat in amicable silence for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Taggert spoke up. “So, how is Jax?” he asked, studying her reaction carefully. “He’s out of surgery, but he’s still in critical conditon,” Skye told him, not going into detail. Taggert nodded as he leaned forward and clasped his hands together, then looked up into Skye’s eyes. “And how are you?” he asked her. Skye quickly averted her eyes from the Detective’s. “I’m fine,” she told him gruffly, looking away. Taggert leaned back again and stretched his arms, then placed one behind Skye on the bench back. “Well, good – I’m glad to hear it.” He paused, then decided to push his luck. “’Cause you know that it’s okay if you’re not fine. It’s understandable.” Skye turned toward him, glaring at him. “Why are you pushing me?” she demanded, growing agitated. “Skye, I just think that it would do you good to let it out,” he told her. Skye stood up and walked a few steps away. “What do you know?” she muttered, once again hugging herself in an attempt to get warmer. Taggert stood up, too, and walked over to Skye. “Are you cold?” Not waiting for her answer, he quickly took off his jacket and put it around her shoulders. Surprised by his gesture of kindness, Skye wrapped the jacket around her before turning to face Taggert. “Thank you,” she murmured, eyes downcast. “You’re welcome.” Taggert couldn’t help but notice how beautiful Skye looked at that particular moment, even though she’d been awake throughout the entire night. The sight of her wearing his jacket only added to the images going through his mind. Taggert self-consciously cleared his throat. “Well, I’d better get in there to see if anything has changed,” he said, trying to keep his voice light. “Wait,” Skye stopped him, surprising herself. There was just something comforting about his presence – he didn’t have any expectations of her behavior, like her family did, and he wasn’t sitting there, judging her ever move. “I… I’m sure that someone would’ve told me if something changed. Do you have to go in right now?” Her voice trailed off, ending in a hopeful note. Taggert took in the woman standing in front of him, who was trying desperately to keep up a brave front but was crumbling inside. He nodded and smiled at her. “I guess I could stay out here for a bit,” he agreed. ************************************************************************************************************* “Where is Taggert?” Mac growled to an officer at the PCPD. “I don’t know, Commish… want me to page him?” the flustered officer asked. “Yeah, I need to talk to him. There’s been a new development on the Jasper Jax case.” Mac looked over to where Bobbie, Scotty, and Carly were deep in conversation. Something hadn’t felt right from the beginning of this fiasco, and now he had a bit of proof that something fishy may be going on. He looked down at the crime scene report, anxious to run by Taggert this latest bit of evidence. The words jumped out at him off of the paper: “Two sets of skid marks found, from two different vehicles. One set of skid marks found going in each direction. Inconclusive as to which vehicle struck the victim. Possible hit-and-run.” |